Lunch with Caroline
by FaithinBones
Summary: Caroline Julian has a lunch date with her niece at the Royal Diner. Their main topic of conversation is Seeley Booth.


This story was requested by JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett. I hope this is what you wanted.

Note: this story is based upon chapters 51 and 52 of my story "A Bad Day'. It is not necessary to read those to read this story.

I don't own Bones.

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The day rainy and blustery, Alicia Bennett entered the Royal Diner and spied her mother's sister sitting in the back of the diner. Closing her umbrella, she held it in front of her as the water dripped on to the floor. A little embarrassed, she kept her eyes firmly on her aunt and not on the waitress glaring at her behind the counter as she walked towards her destination.

"Aunt Caroline, I made it." Sitting down at the table, Alicia placed the wet umbrella on the floor next to the wall and her purse on the seat next to her. "This weather reminds me of back home." Pulling a few napkins from the holder, she wiped her hands dry and frowned at the wet spots on her new blouse.

Amused at her niece's fastidiousness, Caroline placed her cup of hot tea down and commented, "If you say so Cher'. This is just a little shower compared to what we get back home."

The menu looked promising as Alicia read it, pleased to see nutritional meals being offered and not just greasy food. "I've never eaten here before. The selection is very nice."

Her food already in front of her, Caroline picked up her BLT and took a deep bite from the sandwich. Chewing slowly, Caroline noticed that her niece seemed to be a little tired. Placing her sandwich down on her plate, the prosecutor swallowed and commented to her younger relative, "You look tired, Boo."

Grateful that her aunt was giving her the segue she needed to bring up a serious topic, Alicia slowly nodded her head and started to speak when her waitress interrupted her. Pausing to place her order, Alicia hoped she was doing the right thing talking about one of her students. Once she'd placed her order, the young teacher turned her attention back towards her aunt. Nervously clearing her throat, Alicia leaned closer to her aunt and lowered her voice. "Aunt Caroline, you work with a lot of FBI agents. Right?"

Wary where this might be going, Caroline sipped her tea and studied her niece. Placing the cup down, she sniffed, "Yes, I do and you know that."

A faint blush creeping across her cheeks, Alicia licked her bottom lip. "Yes, I do . . . um . . . one of my students . . . I have a student whose father works for the FBI. He's a Deputy Director and . . . well, I'm worried about the child."

Curious, Caroline frowned as she decided whether or not she wanted to get involved. The look on her niece's face rather strained, the older woman decided to hear her relative out. "Why?"

Clearing her throat once more, Alicia was relieved when the waitress brought her a glass of iced tea. Drinking some of the cool beverage, the young teacher marshalled her thoughts and placed the glass back down on the table. "She's twelve years old and her father seems to be violent or at least he's . . . um . . . been in violent situations. I'm afraid for my student and . . . well, maybe I should tell someone although I'm not sure who."

Caroline knew all of the Deputy Directors associated with the FBI and to hear that one of them might be violent with his child sent a chill down her spine. Worried, Caroline moved her plate near the wall, folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. "Are you saying that your student is being abused?"

Slowly shaking her head, Alicia tried to explain the situation. "No, I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening. At least I don't think so . . . um . . . I had my students write a theme paper. The topic was sadness. I wanted them to write about a sad incident that had happened in their lives and . . . well, I expected the deaths of pets or grandparents or gold fish for goodness sake. My student . . . the child I'm worried about, wrote about her father going to prison and her uncle being murdered. Her father is a Deputy Director and yet he was in prison . . . I . . . I googled Deputy Director Booth's name and . . . he was accused of murdering three men and was placed in prison. A few months later the charges were mysteriously dropped. No explanation except that the Prosecutor didn't have enough evidence to prosecute the case."

Feeling the heat in her cheeks, Caroline leaned back against her chair and stared at her young niece as she tried to control her temper. Her voice low, the prosecutor leaned forward again and glared at her younger relative. "Deputy Director Booth was set up for those murders. What actually happened was, he was attacked in his own home by thugs and traitors. Seeley Booth killed those men and while he was doing that he was grievously injured. If his wife hadn't come home he probably would have died before help could have arrived."

Appalled that someone could be attacked in their own home and yet arrested for murder, Alicia felt a little ill. "I don't think I understand. If he was attacked in his home, how is that murder? The FBI arrested him for murder and then he was just let go without explanation. Did they realize that it was a mistake or did they just . . . didn't have enough evidence to convict him?"

Caroline knew her niece was young and inexperienced, but that didn't keep her from being angry with the younger woman. "Listen Boo, there are things that happen in this world that most people don't know about. If you really want to understand what happened then Google Glen Durant. That should explain everything that happened to Seeley Booth and his family at that time . . . I know Seeley Booth and he's a fine good man. A real patriot and he's served his country well . . . as for him being violent . . . well he is, if you're a criminal or a traitor. But to his family . . . with his family, the man is kind and full of love. His family is everything to him. He would never jeopardize his family if he could help it . . . His daughter was seen a lot of tragedy in her young life because evil people tried to destroy good honest people. Her family has been put through a lot, but her parents, Christine's parents love her and they take good care of her and her brother. You don't have anything to worry about with those little children."

Relieved to hear her aunt's explanation, Alicia exhaled deeply. Her chicken salad placed on the table in front of her, the young teacher smiled at the waitress and thanked her. Her attention back towards her aunt, Alicia smiled at the older woman. "I met Deputy Director Booth two days ago. I gave Christine a B- because I thought the theme she had written was a work of fiction. The Deputy Director wanted me to know that the story Christine had written was factual and that I had given his child a lower grade than she deserved."

Her eyebrows now raised prominently, Caroline reached out and patted her niece's hand. "Cher', you have no idea how lucky you were that Christine's mother didn't talk to you about that B- . . . Pooyie, mais dat woman would have give you a hard time for sure."

Amused that her aunt had fallen into her native dialect, Alicia laughed. "I've met Mrs. Booth, she's very nice."

Her eyes large, Caroline gripped her niece's hand. "Listen Cher', never call Deputy Director Booth's wife Mrs. Booth. Her name is Temperance Brennan. She's a bestselling author and a genius scientist. She doesn't like to be called Mrs. Booth and if she hears you call her that you may just find out who the dangerous adult in the family is."

Alicia's smile now gone, the younger woman stared at her aunt. "Are you sure that Christine is in a safe environment?"

Releasing her hand, Caroline grabbed her sandwich from her plate and smiled. "If I could have parents of my choosing, Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan would be my pick. They love their children and would do anything to make them happy. They're good people. A little intense sometimes and they do make criminals wish they had never did what they did, but they are very good people. You don't have to worry about Christine or her brother, Hank. They're safe as a boeuf gras during Lent."

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Any good? Let me know what you think of my little story. Thank you.

A/N: Boeuf gras is the fatted bull. Most Cajun Catholics give up red meat during Lent.

Pooyie is an exclamation. You use it when you're excited. It's like when some Americans start a sentence with 'Oh man'.

Mais kind of means 'Well then'.


End file.
